Cal wants Tony Bennett? ... we're more interested in what's going on with the OTHER Bennett

SATURDAY ... Bay Area media say WSU's Tony Bennett, not St. Mary's Randy Bennett, is the top target at Cal.

Indiana also eyeballing the Wazzu miracle worker, after getting turned down by Pitt's Jamie Dixon. ... Denver Nuggets' assistant Mike Dunlap is in the Cal mix, too. ... we have heard those names a few times in the last few weeks, haven't we? ... OSU still interested in R. Bennett, even though the two sides weren't exactly on the same page in their initial conversations.

We have heard that OSU wants Bennett to visit the campus. ... and also have heard that Bennett isn't interested in setting foot in Legendary Gill (better blindfold him, and take him directly to the men's locker room) until he hears what he wants in terms of base salary, assistant's salary, and length of contract.

Yes, we have asked OSU for a few minutes on the phone with De Carolis (did he really tell candidates he would be gone in two years?) ... no response from Bobby D.

Is Plan B Ken Bone, or Bill Grier, or a curveball (Keno Davis of Drake, Brian Gregory of Dayton) ? ... last we heard, still no sign of Steve Lavin (or his wife) in Corvallis.

What we scribbled on Friday ....

I don't know anything about the "undisclosed locations'' where OSU athletic director Bob De Carolis and associate A.D. Todd Stansbury were holed up this week doing interviews (Philomath? Palm Springs?) but according to sources we do know that discussions with St. Mary's coach Randy Bennett have stalled.

Why? ... because De Carolis apparently came in with a lowball offer of about $525,000 for five years. I think Bennett was under the impression that IF he was OSU's No. 1 candidate he would be offered more money, and more than five years considering the Mission Nearly-Impossible job of making OSU basketball something more than a joke in the Pac-10.

De Carolis told media weeks ago that it was in his budget to go much higher - depending on the candidate. Thus, if Bennett is at the top of the school's list (and we don't know that for sure) it seems puzzling De Carolis would go low, and leave Bennett walking away shaking his head over the fact he would be the lowest-paid coach in the conference and the salaries of his assistant coaches would also be at the bottom of the pay scale.

We put a request out for De Carolis to talk to us Friday, and we're still waiting.

It has been printed elsewhere, but as an example, Arizona's Lute Olson ($1.4 million per) and UCLA's Ben Howland ($1.3 million) are the Pac-10's highest paid coaches ... $1 million per puts you in the Ben Braun (just fired), Ernie Kent, Lorenzo Romar neighborhood. ... ASU brought in Herb Sendek for $900,000 annually, and Wazzu's Tony Bennett comes in at $800,000. ...

So yes, if you are Randy Bennett - and you have read Bay Area media reports that you might be getting a call from Cal - then $525,000 is kind of insulting, no? If you think about it, Bennett has a loaded team coming back next year at St. Mary's, and if the Gaels go to the NCAA tournament again, he will remain in the "hot coaching prospect'' pool. If he doesn't feel right about OSU's offer, and feels like he needs more than five years and more of a financial committment from De Carolis, then why risk his career on what was ultimately a dead-end job for Eddie Payne and Ritchie McKay and Jay John?

One other factor in play here ... sources say De Carolis told Bennett he might be gone in two years, and that if Bennett signed a five-year deal, he would be finishing it out under the stewardship of another athletic director. As you might suspect, that caused some concern on Bennett's part. ... I don't know if Bobby D. was talking hypothetically, or said flat-out he was gone in two years. His achievements at OSU have been impressive. If he gets this hire right, the record looks even better.

If we make contact with De Carolis tonight or tomorrow, we will update this entry.

Kent State coach Jim Christian had a good reason for not returning my calls. Dude's headed for TCU, not Oregon State. Our bad, coach.

- I know I blithely wrote off Southern Mississippi coach Larry Eustachy - who has a checkered past but a knock-your-socks-off resume - but a hard-ass, clean-house guy like Eustachy who is noted for turning sick programs around (is there a big-time program in NCAA basketball more sickly than OSU?) might be perfect in Corvallis.

- there was speculation that Kent State's Jim Christian gets pushed up the wish list if Bennett decides to stay at St. Mary's or wait for a call from Cal. I left phone messages for coach Christian, whose team was 28-7 this season, losing in the first round of the NCAA Midwest Regionals to UNLV, and late Friday night ESPN reported that Christian is indeed leaving - for TCU!.

I think there are a lot of OSU fans just waiting for a reason to get excited about the men's basketball program again. ... and a segment of OSU followers out there who figure that De Carolis - who made a very costly mistake when he gave fired coach Jay John a contract extension - has a 50-50 shot here. He can make a bold hire that will be written about 3-5 years from now as the beginning of OSU's basketball re-birth ... or he can blow it, and add one more casualty to the coaching boneyard that includes Eddie Payne, Ritchie McKay and Jay John.